Dolphi memorial. Dedicated to our children who never
returned home from the disco, and to all
victims of suicide bombing in Dolphi Disco...
"Peace in the Middle East is possible only
when they (arabs) will love their children
more then they hate us" Golda Meir

Victor Medvedenko:
All told, I think everybody should share the blame. The politicians — the police made an oversight . . . Me, too — I shouldn’t have let her go. About Arabs, that’s clear. Everybody shares it.

Katya Pelina:
Politicians have a lot to answer for: they look the other way and are not trying to change things. After all these attacks, they’re still trying to talk to these nonhumans! There’s no point; they don’t understand anything . . .

Yevgenia Djanashvili:
Whom can I blame? Circumstances? The state’s misguided policy? If we the Jews created this state, then we should be the ones preserving it. And children are the future of the state. These children would have given birth to many children, too! And so on. It is absurd when young lives are cut short. I’m just upset I didn’t save my child. I should’ve been more strict and not allowed him to go anywhere. I’m blaming myself. No one else.

Larisa Gutman:
Everybody stopped being vigilant. We let Palestinians come into Israel territory and blow themselves up in public places — that’s careless. We can’t let them in. We don’t go there stuffed with explosives and nails. The explosions of Palestinian suicide bombers in buses and other public places have become a matter of course. I consider this terribly careless on the part of the government.

Sonya Shistik:
Arabs are to blame, and we, too, because we’re not doing anything. They keep blowing us up, and we don’t respond.

Polina Valis:
Frankly, I blame the politicians — Rabin and Barak. When I went out last Saturday, I saw a few guards at every place. I don’t think it will help a lot, but at least that’s something.
Rabin’s fault is his naivety: he thought he could make peace with Arabs. Barak’s is that he only cared about his public image. He didn’t care about peace. And Sharon is the one who provoked this outburst of hate. He shouldn’t have gone to Temple Mount. He knew what would happen. They were sitting quietly, and should have been left alone. He wanted to show that Jews are in charge, and the Arabs got mad.
I don’t think God had a hand in this. God doesn’t make war; people do. God doesn’t make terrorist attacks; people do. God is not to blame for it.

Anya Sinichkina:
It may sound strange, but I’m not blaming the bomber. I’m blaming those who brought him up with the idea that one day he would have to die. He didn’t care whom he would blow up, Russians or Israelis. He’s like a computer, with a command in his memory that he is a killer who has to blow up himself and as many Jews as possible.

Mark Rudin:
To an extent, the state is to blame. There’s a lot of irresponsibility. They knew that a number of attacks were in the works, and no one bothered to take measures.

Victor Komozdrazhnikov:
The Israeli government is to blame. If they reinforced the borders and the security for the population, this wouldn’t have happened.

Tatyana Kremen:
I can’t blame the state. But terror should be treated differently. We shouldn’t be so humane and forgiving. I know I shouldn’t be saying those things, but I can’t watch us being destroyed, either! You need an iron fist! How long can we take it?

Ivan Lupalo:
We don’t blame the government; we thank it for the help it gave us. Although we’re Ukrainian citizens, we haven’t seen an iota of help from our own government. No, I blame the Arabs. If I were drafted, I’d fight them to the last drop of blood in order to avenge all the children, all the people whom they have caused so much suffering. I’ll never forgive them for the death of my son.

Natalia Panchenko-Sannikova:
I might incur the wrath of the Israeli government, but I think they should have reacted right away, after the very first attack, the way Americans did. They shouldn’t have given them more chances to keep on killing. At least impose economic sanctions. Or block every road, as they did later. The absence of response led to many deaths.

Nadezhda Derenshteyn:
Arabs are to blame — what have we ever done to them? Did we blow them up? They are the ones blowing us up! Why can’t they leave us alone — we would never touch them. Why would we bomb them? What do we need them for?

Rita Abramova:
In the first place, I’m blaming Israeli politicians and the whole world for the failure to respond. They decided to stay silent. How can one, when so many children have died? When so many young people are in hospitals while their friends are enjoying their summer break? But you can’t blame anyone for what happened. How could one have prevented it?

Bronislava Osadchaya:
If you want to find someone to blame, you always can. I’m blaming myself: I should’ve been tougher with her and not let her go. I’m blaming her friends who dragged her around. She has been going to the disco only the last four months; before, she had no idea what it was. Her friends talked her into going. The first thing her father said, “It’s my fault, I brought you to Israel. You didn’t want to go, and I dragged you.” But that’s nonsense.
At first, I was pestering everybody — why? What sin did I commit to be punished so? Who should be blamed for people dying at the pizzeria in Jerusalem? In broad daylight? A mother whose children died can also say: it’s my fault, I brought them there. But that’s not so.